


After the Dark

by PolygamousSquamous



Category: Gotham (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Student/Teacher, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Canon-Typical Violence, Child Abuse, M/M, Not Underage, Teacher-Student Relationship
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-17
Updated: 2018-01-09
Packaged: 2019-02-15 21:40:40
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 12,449
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13039977
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PolygamousSquamous/pseuds/PolygamousSquamous
Summary: As the teacher entered Ed had to blink a few times, and he felt his jaw widen fractionally. The man who swaggered coolly into the room could be described as nothing short of absolutely stunning.or high school senior Ed Nygma becomes obsessed with his AP Criminal Psychology teacher while also dealing with a lot of shit.OR it would be a lot easier for new teacher Oswald Cobblepot to help this kid out if he wasn't so damn tempting





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I will update tags as I go. 
> 
> Also please comment I require validation to continue.

Edward Nashton turned Nygma was certainly not your average run of the mill nerd. He didn’t play nice or sit quietly on the periphery of a classroom trying not to get bullied. He realized long ago that not being bullied wasn’t an option life was going to give him. No Edward sought out attention and lately he demanded it. While in his younger years school had been his own personal hell away from hell, when he became a senior and he could feel his emancipation nearing, school was the one place where he got to celebrate his own genius. It was a game for him and one that he knew he could win. 

He realized what many of the other students couldn’t: he wasn’t there to make friends or gain anyone’s approval anymore. He had already been accepted early admissions to the forensic science program at Gotham University with a full ride scholarship and he could count the months, weeks, days, hours, minutes, and even seconds until he could kiss his miserable life under his father’s roof goodbye and leave a free man. Edward didn’t need anything else from school so he didn't want to hide anymore. His hand shot up first to answer every question, his work was always turned in early and obnoxiously flawless, and he did not hesitate to correct any student or teacher who happened to be wrong in his vicinity. 

He became known throughout the school as something of a menace and he embraced his role wholeheartedly. He was not afraid to antagonize everyone who he came up against and if he got shoved in the hallway or received a dirty look because of this he couldn’t find it in himself to care, after all he received much worse at home. His perfect work ensured that he was untouchable in all the ways that really mattered. Edward was playing the long game and he had his eyes on the prize.

With the game of school becoming so depressingly easy Edward began to find ways to liven it up a little. He found that besides having a gift for playing the system he also had a certain talent for playing with people. Edward did not enjoy watching television because the characters so often acted in a fashion either completely atypical of his expectations or they followed them completely. The frustration and bore of the two dimensional plot devices masquerading as characters was not enough to hold the attention span of a mind so brilliant as Ed’s. No, he preferred to watch real people. He was captivated by their lives (and deaths). After all much like everything in his life people’s brains we're just another puzzle to figure out. He found that while he couldn't change how people felt (towards him or otherwise) he could use those emotions and pray on them to make them do any number of entertaining things.

At the end of his junior year he had put one of these such plots in action that resulted in the termination of the ignoramus whose class he was meant to be in for AP Criminal Psychology his senior year. The idiot had it coming. After all, Ed reasoned, if he was going to sit in another class where he already knew the material he’d rather not have to have it parroted at him by an incompetent fool who barely understood it himself. The new teacher would no doubt provide a new puzzle for Ed or he could ensure he suffered the fate of his predecessor if he didn't. 

On the first day of school he took his seat as always front and just to the left of center so that he was equidistance from the board and the teacher’s desk. He practically buzzed with excitement and as he meticulously set his pencils perpendicular to the groove of his desk and pulled his worn notebook and binder out of his bag. 

He pointedly ignored the annoyed stares of the other kids as they filed in. ‘That's right.’ he thought ‘I'm still here.’ They no doubt were praying they would not have to have classes with the know it all who always screwed up the curve. Better to be unwanted here, he thought grimly. The end of the summer could not have come quick enough. 

When the door swung open he immediately shook off his reflective melancholy and whipped his head around to lay eyes on his new teacher. As the teacher entered Ed had to blink a few times, and he felt his jaw widen fractionally. The man who swaggered coolly into the room could be described as nothing short of absolutely stunning. 

He was short but you wouldn’t notice that at first glance, no the first thing Edward noticed was the way he carried himself. His head was held high but not arrogantly so, just enough so that he had to view everyone around him with slightly hooded disinterested eyes. His sharp gaze travelled down his long aristocratic nose and straight into the souls of whoever should be so lucky to receive his eye contact. 

His right leg was turned outward at an odd angle perhaps due to healing badly from a previous injury. Ed noted this trinket of information somewhat belatedly though because he was just captivated by the grace with which this man moved and swayed. His limp, which on a lesser mortal may have inspired pity, on this man inspired awe. His messenger bag was slung precariously over one shoulder and an umbrella was clutched in his right hand tilted downward almost in the manner one might carry a cane. However he never once allowed it to touch the ground or used it to lean on. It was as if this small bird like man was above allowing himself even that small concession for his own comfort. He wore his injury like a badge of honor that sent one clear message: Try Me.

Ed fully intended to.

As the teacher strode towards the front of the desk he did not bother acknowledging the students barely sparing a disinterested sidelong flick of the eye in Ed’s general direction. Ed’s interest picked up even more just from the simple gesture, he could tell this this man was going to be different from the others, who tried so hard to make an impression and to be something to the students. He simply went straight to his desk to set out his things. After he had arranged everything satisfactorily he at last looked over the classroom where the kids still milled about, most of them oblivious to both his presence and the watchful stare that was currently piercing into their backs and profiles. He started further back in the class and Ed could see as he stared at each student a number of lightning fast micro expressions flit across the man’s face. He was sizing them up, assessing them, no doubt passing judgments and formulating a strategy for how to proceed once the class started. 

And then all of a sudden his eyes locked with Ed’s and all of his admirative speculations about the man evaporated. Ed felt as though as his soul was laid bare. He wondered how the other student’s could have ever been oblivious to the feeling of having his eyes on them. Or perhaps in them was a more apt phrase. His eyes scoured Ed, they pierced him. In the instant the two made eye contact Ed’s mind which thrived on cold calculations was decimated by feelings. And then the moment was over the teacher’s lips quirked upward into the tiniest of smirks as he at last lowered his eyes and shook his head in amusement. 

Ed knew that this man was going to offer plenty of fuel for his insomnia.


	2. This Should Be Good

Criminal Psychology is not your usual fare for high school age kids. In Gotham it had been an easy sell. It was laughable to think that anyone who lived in the crime capital of the world, complete with an insane asylum, and a bridge away from blackgate would not be able to apply the knowledge to their everyday lives. Oswald was just the first to start teaching it. Most schools had picked up his curriculum fairly quickly once they got word of it. He knew that out here in the middle of Cookie-Cutter USA it would be a harder sell. People in these kinds of communities preferred to sweep life’s imperfections under the rug and wouldn’t dream of exposing their high schoolers to the knowledge that those who commit crimes are people too. He knew he needed this group to work out, if he wanted his course to become common core, but as Oswald looked the students over he was unimpressed. 

Teaching and living in Gotham he saw all kinds and even some kinds that weren’t kinds anywhere else. Out here in this town as he looked the kids over he saw that they lacked something his classes in the past (trying as they may have been) all had. It wasn’t a simple matter of whether or not they were city kids, the kids in Gotham had grit, they had spunk and spark. As he glanced over the classroom before him he could see that none of these kids looked as though they were actually even living. They had all just picked stereotypes and arranged themselves accordingly. Their smiles and their snarls just never quite reached the eyes.

Speaking of eyes he had nearly finished his perfunctory once over of the class when he met a pair of them. This was the first student who had taken notice of him since he entered the room but there was something else that set him apart. He realized that this kid also possessed the first pair of eyes he had seen since he got here that looked as though they had something behind them. 

The kid met his gaze pointedly for several moments not even blinking and if Oswald had to guess he’d say he wasn't breathing either. Oswald realized the he had probably been watching him the entire time especially if his caught with a hand in the cookie jar expression was anything to go by. He had to chuckle to himself as the boy chewed on his lip and looked as thought he we're waiting to be struck down any minute, after all there are worse things to be caught doing than looking at your teacher before the bell. 

Oswald for lack of something better to do with his extra few minutes began to scan his attendance sheet until one name in particular caught his eye: Edward Nygma. ‘If this is a joke at least it was a sophisticated one.’ Oswald thought to himself. 

When he called roll he was less surprised than he should have been to find that none other than the same boy from before raised his hand when he called Edward Nygma. Now he was definitely intrigued. He didn't have time to comment besides a raised eyebrow before the heckling started.

“What? Eddie's got a new name. What are you trying to run away again?”

“Nah I bet his dad just finally disowned him.”

“Who would want to share a last name with a freakshow like that anyways.”

As the class erupted into laughter they all failed to notice Oswald’s expression souring and turning deadly. This time it even escaped the notice of Ed who was too busy staring pointedly at his desk and ignoring the jeers of the other students. Something in Edward's tired expression made Oswald snap and erupt spectacularly.

He leapt to his feet slamming both hands on his desk and practically screeching at the class. “Enough! I will kick you out, every single one of you. In my class you will never speak that way about another student. My class is about empathy and if none of you numskulls have the capacity for it I suggest you leave now because without it you will not survive in this class or any other. Have I made myself clear?” 

At some point during his brief tirade he realized had ended up coming out from behind his desk and standing mere inches from the first row of desks leaning slightly forward poised as if ready to strike. He wasn't quite foaming at the mouth but it must have been a close thing if the student's shell shocked expressions were anything to go by.

He looked over to see how the kid -Edward Nygma- was and caught him looking up at Oswald. His eyes were blown wide and he leaned slightly backward as if Oswald were some kind of wild animal who would pounce on him next.

‘Well shit’ Oswald thought. Here he was trying to defend this kid and now it looked as if he had probably just scared the crap out of him. He worked to school his expression back from near murderous rage as he met Edwards eyes and the effect was instantaneous. The boy relaxed and his expression morphed from one of fear into one of respect mingled with gratitude and just a hint of something Oswald could not identify.

He didn't realize it at the time but it was that same gleeful spark from earlier when the kid had been caught staring. Edward was positively enthralled, as though seeing Oswald lose his temper to defend him was the most thrilling thing to have ever happened to him.

They both broke out of this trance almost simultaneously as they realized the eyes of the entire class were still on this bizarre exchange. Oswald straightened up and took his time walking back to his desk to give himself a chance to regain his composure. Surprisingly he needed this respite less from his screaming fit and more from the time spent locking eyes with Edward. 

He was able to finish calling roll with no more incidents and jumped right into reviewing his syllabus. He honestly knew the curriculum so well he could do this in his sleep. He usually would take this opportunity to take in the class’s reactions and see which kids were gonna run straight to their counselors after this to drop the course but instead he took this time to look over his new friend Edward.

He was this school's designated target for bullying that much was clear. Oswald could see all of the signs having been the bigger kids punching bags in every stage of his schooling but what he couldn't understand about Edward Nygma was why. He was obviously smart but also funny and quite good looking. He supposed these kids couldn't see past the glasses to the strikingly intelligent eyes that first caught Oswald's attention living above cheekbones and a jawline that you could just cut yourself on, or past the ill fitting clothing to the tall yet lean physique that it seemed as if Edward was finally growing into. As the class went on Oswald became more and more powerless to his urge to just stare at Edward and take in his every reaction and habit. 

Before he knew it the bell rang that dismissed the students to their lunch period. Oswald hastily yelled out the pages he expected them to have read but the next class as all of the students scrambled to collect their things and run for the door. Good riddance Oswald thought. Now he’d just have to quiz the ones who stayed on those pages first thing to ensure they took him seriously next time. 

As the last student fled the class he settled back into his desk with a sigh which he was surprised to hear echoed back at him. He looked up and realized he was not alone. 

Edward Nygma was still sitting at his desk. All of his belongings were now packed away but he was sitting up straight as a rod just as he had been during class, eyes alternating between looking towards Oswald expectantly and looking at the ground. Oswald watched him fidget and fiddle like this with a surprising amount of fondness considering he only just met this young man an hour and a half ago before he got up and approached him.

‘This should be good’ he thought.


	3. Damn It

“Edward.”

Ed looked up at the sound of his name coming from Oswald's lips. He couldn't remember the last time he had ever liked the sound of his own name. He reasoned that it didn't matter what Oswald was saying he’d still love the sound of it. After all he had just sat through an hour and a half listening to the melodic rise and fall of his cadence as he went over a syllabus. Edward never listened to his teachers even when they were actually offering information he preferred instead to figure things out for himself. Did Oswald really have such power over him?

He thought all of this only to realize somewhat belatedly that he hadn't said anything back when Oswald called his name and that the man had been steadily approaching and addressing him while he mentally clocked out. He nearly startled as he look up to see the man at his side and then he did actually did jump when he felt the man’s hand warm and reassuring on his shoulder. 

He registered only a bit late that perhaps this would send the wrong message when the man quickly retracted his hand and stepped back out of his space. 

“Edward.” He began again, his tone calm and placating in a way that suggested far more patience than what he used while he addressed the class “I said, I assume you realize that this class has concluded so if there is something you want-”

“Oh. I’m sorry.” Edward cut him off, turning manic again in an instant at his supposed mistake. “I didn’t mean to bother you I just I didn’t want to go to the cafeteria. I can understand if you are busy or don’t want me here while your planning. I can just... I’ll go I’m sorry.” Edward grabbed his bag quickly and stood ready to make for the door but this time Oswald grabbed both shoulders all pretense of formality gone and stopped him.

“Edward. It’s okay I understand. Feel free to stay in here whenever you need.” Then without leaving any room for argument Oswald merely stepped away leaving Edward’s space just as quickly as he invaded it. He swaggered back to his desk and sat down taking out the papers for his next class and busying himself. 

Edward was left swaying there for minute dizzied from the fact that he had just received the most positive human contact from another person he’d had in a long time and floored by the intense yet quiet understanding behind Oswald’s words. He at last set down his books and settled back into his desk. 

Unbeknownst to him hidden behind his papers Oswald was suppressing a smile at the fact that Ed had decided to stay after all.

And so it became a sort of routine for them. Everyday after class all of the other students would file out leaving Edward and Oswald. They would often bring their lunches and do their respective school related work. More often than not they would just end up talking. They talked about everything: Theories about forensics and criminal psychology, which students and staff they both couldn’t stand, and some days Edward would request Oswald tell him stories about what it was like in Gotham. In return Oswald would ask Edward questions about himself.

Edward never thought of himself as much but Oswald seemed to think otherwise. He accepted every new fact about Edward he learned each day with enthusiasm praising him and commending him on his many talents, accomplishments, and interests. He even reacted positively when Edward revealed he had a particular fondness for riddles. 

Most notable was the day when Edward revealed that he liked to cook and allowed Oswald to try some of the pasta salad that he had made for his lunch. Edward would never forget that moment of looking up at Oswald tasting his food, moaning after that first tiny spoonful as though he had just tasted heaven itself. After that whenever he made pasta salad he always brought extra.

Just as everyday Oswald would try and learn a little something about Ed, Ed had his own personal objectives. Mainly they started out simple: make Oswald laugh, hear Oswald say his name, and they slowly began to get more and more complicated from there. His newest and most surprising objective was to get Oswald to touch him. Ever since that first day when Oswald had grabbed Ed’s shoulders, grounding him and making him feel he was welcome, Ed had begun to rethink his assumption that physical contact was a negative experience for him. He began to seek it out and so long as it was with Oswald he would take it. 

A brush of their fingers against each other's was the first step. In the first couple of days Edward would reach for things at same time as Oswald did. He figured out that this form of contact wouldn’t be enough to satisfy himself when he tripped and fell trying to lunge for a dry erase marker that Oswald was about to pick up. This did however earn him the pleasure of having Oswald steady him on his feet with a small perplexed smile, one hand on Ed’s shoulder and the other in the small of his back. Ed had to mentally berate himself for almost shuddering at how right that had felt. 

After that incident Edward decided his next challenge would be to get a hug. Oswald had proven himself to be a, very demonstrative man at times often clapping Ed on the shoulder or patting his back as a form of praise. Ed reasoned it would be fairly easy for him to turn one of these lingering shoulder pats into a hug and that if social norms were anything to go by after the awkwardness of the initial hug he would be free to hug Oswald within reason and maybe even make it a daily experience. Armed with this conviction Edward was prepared to make his move. 

He had just finished telling Oswald a particularly morbid joke which appealed to both of their darker senses of humor. This joke earned him a grasp on his shoulder from Oswald with the added bonus of getting to hear his strong melodious laugh. Drunk off of what Ed had begun to categorize as one of his favorite sounds ever, He placed a hand on Oswald's back and tugged him in close. 

If Oswald was surprised by this turn of events he was gracious enough to accept them. He placed his hands on Edward's back and hugged him back kneading small circles into his skin. Edward finally relaxed into this touch. For a first hug it was really nice. He brought his free hand up to the back of Oswald's neck, bending down slightly and guiding Oswald so that their bodies fit together closely and were now almost cheek to cheek. They stood there like that for a while and Ed snuggled into Oswald’s neck inhaling deeply trying to commit everything about this moment and this man to his sense memory. 

Then Oswald did something completely unexpected. He broke the pattern he had been tracing in Edwards back to reach up and place a hand in the short hairs at the base of his neck. He dragged his cheek along Edwards ghosting warm shaky breaths in his ear and on his face that made him shiver and cling to Oswald tighter. 

Finally he stopped face to face with Edward, looking into the eyes that encaptured him from the first moment he saw the young man, he leaned forward to press his insistent lips to Edward’s. He did this very softly at first but feeling Ed respond his lips parted slightly to move closer and deeper. 

Edward who had already been losing his mind from just a simple hug was no longer able to contain himself and found himself moaning wantonly into his teacher’s mouth. The sound of Ed’s moan however served to snap Oswald out of his revelry enough for a single thought to register in this surreal situation.

‘What the Hell am I doing?’

He broke the kiss, leaping backwards out of Ed’s grasp as though he had been burned. Leaving the two of them breathing heavily and staring wide eyed in anticipation of what the other would do next. Ed's eyes were just as electric as ever and while Oswald could normally discern his thoughts through them his own kiss fried brain was at a loss to untangle the storm of conflicting emotions he saw reflected back at him.

“I'm so sorry Ed. I don't know what came over me that was completely inappropriate and I-” Oswald would have continued to babble out apologies and excuses had Edward not suddenly leapt forward and kissed him once again. This time it was harder and more chaste than before and Oswald barely had time to reciprocate before Edward wrenched himself backwards out of Oswald's arms grabbed his backpack and ran out the door. 

Oswald was left standing there numbly for a moment and was about to run after his pupil when he heard the bell signaling the end of lunch and transition to the next class dislodging a final thought before he had to set himself back to the task of getting through the rest of his day:

‘Damn it.’


	4. Remember That

‘I’m going to be expelled’

That's the one thought that kept turning over and over in Edward's mind as he hurtled down the school hallway. Well that and the chain of events that would not doubt follow his being found out. He would lose his chance at college first of all. By kissing Oswald he had kissed his chance of getting out of this town goodbye, and his life would be over before it began not to mention the fact that his life would literally be over when his father found out. Ed pushed himself to run a little faster almost as though his running would keep him away from the inevitability of his world crashing down around him.

He was running faster then he had in recent memory because he desperately needed it. He needed space to think, to breathe, because he didn't realise it until the moment his lips met his teacher’s but all this time he hadn't been breathing not really. He hadn't been eating or sleeping or thinking like he thought he had been at all. He had just been waiting for that moment. 

He had wanted that kiss and so much more ever since he first laid eyes on Oswald and maybe even before that if he was honest with himself, he could have seen that if he took a minute to stop and think about why every moment he had spent in Oswald's presence had been sucked straight into that huge empty hole he always had inside himself and even the kiss hadn't been enough. But Edward did not stop and think or analyze any of this because he was too busy thinking: ‘Oh dear, I'm going to be expelled.’

He needed to sit down. Needed to make a plan of action for how to proceed. He could go to his next class but that would not be conducive to his state of mind right now. No there would be other people there, distractions, he needed some place quiet and familiar. He'd skip his next class and hide in the library. He had always had perfect attendance and besides he knew the material, his physical presence in class was a courtesy but it was inconsequential to his success. Few people besides him and the elderly librarian ever went to the library especially during class time and she wouldn't care if he was skipping so long as someone was taking an interest in the books. Besides, he reasoned with himself, he had just had his tongue in his teacher's mouth, truancy was the least off his problems at the moment. 

So Edward found a quiet secluded corner among the shelves. He considered for a moment grabbing a chair but in the end thought better of it opting instead to make himself as small as possible. He sat on the floor with his back to the wall, flanked on both sides with shelves, and drew his legs into his chest. Once positioned he exhaled shakily and began to rationalize the situation. 

The truth of what had just happened was going to come out, that much was clear. Ed knew better than most that nothing really stayed secret in this kind of town. The truth of what he started would come out. Obviously Ed knew he had to take responsibility for what happened otherwise Oswald could lose his job. A horrible voice inside himself told him to just turn Oswald in and let him be fired but he couldn't. Oswald was the only one he had who matched his intellect, he cared about Oswald, which was something that could not be said about the others whose lives he could play with so easily. No he couldn't hurt Oswald so he had to say he had been the one to initiate what had happened. After all he knew that first kiss had some kind of a direct correlation to the hug that he initiated. That all of this was his fault for wanting to have a friend and for wanting to be normal. 

‘Normal kids don't usually have a teacher as their only friend.’ Another part of him so helpfully offered, the same part piping up to also say that normal kids don't usually want or enjoy the romantic attentions of men in their late 20s.

‘Was that really what the kiss was?’ 

As another more doubtful part of himself piped up Ed tried not to feel the pang in his chest at the thought that perhaps Oswald knew that Ed had some kind of feelings for him, knew that Ed would want the kiss and was just doing it as a kindness, or out of pity. Or maybe Oswald's intentions toward him were purely physical and he just saw Ed as some willing kid with whom he could have his way. Ed immediately hated himself after this thought surfaced. How could he think such things about Oswald. Oswald who was clever and brilliant and encouraging and kind to him when no one else on this earth was. He also hated himself for the fact that he was not completely disgusted by the idea. Even if Oswald was only interested in him for purely physical reasons at least he was interested at least that made Ed special.

‘Please. You really think you're special.’ Yet another piece of his psyche spoke up claiming that he was not special to Oswald at all but that he was being targeted, groomed by the other man. It wouldn't have been hard, Ed reasoned. After all he had no one to turn to, no one who truly cared. The first time Oswald met him he probably realized all it would take was a few kind words and a couple of suggestive touches to get Ed exactly where he wanted him. Which is where exactly? Why kiss him and let him leave? Why apologize? There were too many unknown variables for Ed to figure out and he knew if he kept going like this he wasn't going to be able to keep it together. 

None of this was getting Ed any closer to figuring out his best course of action. He was in uncharted territory and had no idea what he dealing with. His judgement where Oswald was concerned clearly could not be trusted and the fact of the matter remained that there was only one person who could be trusted in his life and that was the man who was at the center of his conundrum. 

Ed tried his best to forget the problem and instead focused on calming down, and quieting all the voices jostling for attention and control in his head. He leveled out his breathing and tried to distract his mind by looking at his surroundings. Soon the panic died down and he went numb merely scanning the titles of the various books on the shelves around him and murmuring the names and facts about them to himself. He stopped as one name in particular caught his eye: a book of the Legends of Phrygian Gordium of which Ed knew the most notable was the legend of the Gordian Knot. As he recited under his breath “When Alexander the Great encountered the Gordian Knot a knot so complex none had ever been able to untangle it he simply took out his sword and cut it in two.” 

Sometimes a simple solution is best. 

Of course. Why hadn't Ed thought of it this way before. He needed to look at the situation as it was plain and simple. He couldn't allow his demons to twist this into something it wasn't. Oswald had apologized, said that what they had done was inappropriate. That must be what Oswald truly believed. He was Ed's only friend the only one who could be trusted so he would trust him. He would go and talk to him and tell him what he had decided and that would be that. 

Much like Alexander had been when he encountered the Gordian Knot Ed was in way over his head, so the best thing for both of them would be to cut things off and end them before they got tangled and messy. 

Ed should have felt relieved at finally finding the solution to his problem but all he felt was deep profound loss. As the first tears rolled down his reddened cheeks he told himself he was just being childish but as they continued despite his best efforts to stop them and his face contorted into an ugly mask of hurt he knew not one single part of him felt that was really true. All of him knew that a child wouldn't care this deeply about Oswald. He swallowed his sobs and silently screamed because he knew that if he gave in and called his feelings toward Oswald what they really were then that would make it that much harder to try and let them go.

***

Oswald cursed himself under his breath as the students for the next class began to reluctantly file in. 

‘Yeah well I don't want to be here either believe me.’ He thought to himself ruefully. He should have gone after Ed, but to say what? He couldn’t say he was sorry because that had not worked out in his favor the first time and also he was not technically all that sorry for what he had done, yet another thing to hate himself for.

He had really wanted to kiss Ed and from the way Ed reacted it seemed as if he had wanted it to. Looking back he could definitely see the little crush that Ed had been developing on him but he thought he had simply been imagining things or maybe even projecting a little. Oswald wasn’t kidding himself he knew that even if Ed returned his feelings it wouldn't change the fact that he was royally screwed. What he had done was a massive abuse of power he had used Ed’s feelings for him and his damn willingness and all he could do now was pray that Ed did not run out of here and go straight to the next adult and tell them that his criminal psychology teacher had just tried to play tonsil hockey with him. He could beg him to keep quiet but he honestly had no right. He should give Edward his space and let him decide where to go from here, that was the least he could do after just impulsively kissing him and dumping a virtual tidal wave of issues onto an 18 year old. 

Oswald still couldn't bring himself to think of Edward as a kid though. As he looked around the classroom at the vacant juvenile stares he simply couldn't reconcile them with the young man who he had come to care for. Edward seemed a million miles ahead of everyone around him. Edward who was shy and enthusiastic and so damn smart. Ed’s eyes and his smile drew out Oswald who was admittedly one of the most moody and maudlin people who he knew and turned him for the first time in his life into someone who believed in the good of this world. If Edward for all of his hidden pain and secrets that he didn't think Oswald noticed could still be so passionate and driven and perfect then what excuse did Oswald have for not at least trying to be half as great as the man that Ed seemed to see when he looked at him. 

The more Oswald thought about Edward the more he began to hope against hope that Edward decided to pursue this. Even though he was still in highschool Edward was for all intents and purposes a man and he could choose whatever he wanted. If that meant choosing Oswald then he swore to himself he would find a way to make it work. Oswald tried not to smile too much at the thought.

When the end of his school day finally came and all of the students filed out Oswald was on autopilot packing up his things away and trying not to think too hard about Ed. Specifically he was not going to think about Ed’s warm deep brown eyes, his hair that he could never seem to get to do exactly as he asked, or his voice that could switch from boyish and gleeful to a low baritone that made Oswald's hair stand on end in a second. He especially was not going to think about the warmth of Ed's body and the way it fit so well against him, and his lips so soft and eager and how they had parted just so and let that really nice needy sound escape that Oswald was unequivocally not going to think about.

He was just about ready to leave when he heard someone clear their throat from the doorway and looked up to see Edward. Oswald began to smile but upon closer inspection of Edward he stopped. He was looking at the floor his cheeks were reddened and his eyes which were puffy from crying were trained at the floor by his feet. 

What had he done? Oswald began to think that perhaps he read the situation wrong. Had he really upset Edward so badly?

Oswald rushed forward and was about to envelope him in a hug when he thought better of it. He slowly outstretched a hand to Ed’s shoulder to comfort him but ended up just letting the hand fall back to his side useless. 

Finally he also cleared his throat and spoke. “Edward do you want to come in?” 

Edward didn’t answer, only shuffling forward into the room slightly. Oswald reached past him to close the door but he did so deliberately slowly. He did not want Edward to feel trapped with him or distress him more but in the end he knew that the need for this conversation to be private outweighed that concern. Ed should know that he was safe with him. Oswald tried to seem as neutral and non threatening as possible and leaned back against the nearest desk missing casual by at least a mile. 

When after a few moments Ed still hadn’t spoken Oswald saw his hopes of Ed reciprocating his feelings evaporate before his eyes. He had just been trying to kid himself into thinking that they could be something they couldn’t. He shouldn’t expect Ed to want the same things he did after all he had his whole life thought out already and none of it included Oswald or the trouble and heartbreak he knew them being together would cause.

“Ed, before when you ran off... I’m sorry I’ve upset you.” Ed let out a small strangled sound like he was trying not to sob. It took everything Oswald had, not to drop his act of composure and just touch Edward or maybe break down and cry with him but he knew he what he had to say for both of their sakes "Can't we just go back to the way things were?” Oswald gave a small smile. Ed still wasn’t meeting his eyes but he tried to will them both to think about how carefree they both had been just mere hours ago. There was no reason they could not be that way again. He let the smile drop and tried instead to say something a little closer to the truth. “Ed you are the best friend I’ve ever had I don’t want to lose you...Please” 

This seemed to break through to Ed. He finally looked up and Oswald saw his profound hurt reflected back at him. Ed crossed the great distance between them and pulled Oswald in for a hug. His hug just like his kiss was fast and desperate as though he felt he would not have the chance for another one. Oswald finally relaxed. They were going to be okay Ed didn't hate him. Over Ed’s shoulder he at last allowed his tears to well up in his eyes and for his hopeful smile to return just a bit.

“You’re my best friend as well Oswald. Remember that”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry. I promise there will be a happy ending for our boys but for now it's the feels and drama train.


	5. Help Me

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay this chapter was long and hard to write. Please pay attention to the updated tags because there is some physical abuse in the second part of this chapter as well as some references to past psychological abuse.

Oswald got to his car and threw his bags and items haphazardly into the passenger's seat before climbing in himself. He allowed himself one deep breath in and out, started the car, and began his commute home. 

Living in the suburbs he found was much different than living in Gotham. Both the cramped grimy inner city apartment he and his mother used to share and the practical mansion they forsook it for to go live on the outskirts of Gotham with his father had something that his new house in the suburbs did not: Privacy. Back in the city even though you were surrounded by people you had some measure of anonymity. Gothamites are many things but nosy is not one of them. Minding your own business in Gotham is a matter of self preservation. Life in these types of cookie cutter communities was too assured, too safe, people looked for imperfections and secrets in order to stamp them out and yet they hid their own secrets so that they could kid themselves into thinking they had issues that could even hold a candle to the ones in a city like Gotham. 

He thought all of this as he drove back to his house because really that was the crux of the issue at hand. He understood this place and that’s why he had known that he would likely never be able to have what he wanted with Edward. In Gotham people wouldn’t bat an eyelash if he had Ed on his arm but out here even the suspicion of fondness between them would raise hell and this place would tear them apart. He understood why Ed had been so upset and scared at the feelings he had for Oswald. Discovering he had feelings for men had simply another stage of Oswald’s evolution but seeing the way Edward was treated he no doubt felt it was a weakness that afforded him further persecution. 

None of this meant that Oswald was going to give up on him though. He was going to continue to be whatever Ed needed him to be. He just had to keep himself from wanting more.

Oswald pulled into his driveway and without bothering to look up gave a shot curt nod to whichever neighbor happened to be currently waving to him, just as he did every time he got back from work. It was almost as if they all took turns pestering him. 

“Mister Cobblepot!”

It seemed this was one of those days in which his lackluster greeting would not be enough to satisfy whoever was waiting for him.

He looked up to meet the eyes of a man who he recognised as his neighbor from two doors down. Tom, Frank, or Joe or another suitably bland caucasian name. The man looked just as his name sounded, literally leaning against the white picket fence of his yard which was clearly just for decoration as it only came halfway up his pleated khaki clad leg. 

The man who Oswald is now pretty sure he had identified as Jeff if his memory served correctly continued to talk him up asking about his day and other such small talk as Oswald forced a smile and a couple of one word responses until he was able to close his door behind him. 

“Home sweet home.” No sooner did Oswald get in the door than his landline began to ring. He hurriedly hobbled past the few pesky boxes he has yet to unpack and settles down into the sofa to answer knowing that only one person ever calls. 

“Hello Mother.”

“Oswald! Oh my sweet boy, how was work today? Are the children treating you nicely?”

“Yes mother I told you they aren’t like the ones in Gotham.” Oswald knew that to his mother he would always be the scrawny kid who was bullied all the way through school. When he had told her after graduation he was going to become a teacher it was the first time he had ever truly surprised her. Now however he commanded appropriately all of the fear, respect, and love he misplaced during his adolescent experiences with education.

“Come Gertrud please don’t pester the boy.” Oswald smiled at the presence of a second voice on the line this one belonged to his father Elijah Van Dahl and his words were packed with so much fondness for his wife that one couldn't possibly mistake his earlier statement for an actual admonishment. 

“I was not pestering him I simply wanted to make sure the children were not giving him a hard time” came the response back which was packed with just as much if not more saccharine affection. 

“Gertie Dear. Why don’t we try out that new web camera Oswald got us? I’d like to talk to our boy without having to listen in on the other line.” Oswald rolled his eyes at the prospect of teaching his parents the concept of skype yet again but perhaps this was what he needed after the longest day of his life.

He explained to them how to set up everything as he grabbed his own laptop. He could hear on their end one of the staff exasperatedly explaining to his parents about how to connect the video camera before they finally were able to hang up the phone and make the video call.

Oswald’s smile widened at the sight of his parents and he could feel the tension from the day easing as they started their back and forth. Even if it was just on the screen of his laptop it was good to be home and to hear his parents go on about their life in Gotham and how they spent their days at the manor. They talked for a good long while and Oswald was content to listen and offer the occasional commentary which set them beaming as though their boy was the smartest person in the world. Oswald’s smile began to wane as he thought about how much he wished that were true.

After a while Elijah excused himself to go take his medicine. Soon after he left the frame Oswald’s mother leaned closer to the camera conspiratorially and gave him one of those looks that even on a grainy video chat seemed to pierce his very soul. 

“What’s wrong.”

“Mother nothing is wrong. I just-” Oswald began but she cut him of raising a finger in front of the camera in a gesture that Oswald would have used to hush a floundering student.

“Your father may not know you well enough to tell when your smiles do not reach the eyes but I do.”

Oswald sighed. He and his mother had been through too much for her not to notice when something was off with him which was both a blessing and a curse. How could he even begin to explain the kind of trouble he was in. He knew his mother was open minded about most things but he felt sure this would be the one time he’d disappoint her where she might finally realize her precious boy is twisted and selfish.

“It’s kind of a long story Mother.”

His mother hummed on the other end of the line as if in acknowledgement of his hesitation. He took a deep breath and took his laptop into the kitchen with him. If he was going to have this conversation with his mother right now he needed a glass of wine. He poured himself one and sat at the center island putting his laptop on the counter in front of him from which his mother’s expectant face still peered at him. He rubbed a hand down his face in nervous anticipation wondering just how his mother still after all these years could manage to pull confessions out of him with barely a word.

“Well since I’ve been here I’ve met this...young man and he-” Oswald’s head whipped around as he was cut off by the sound of a loud thud against his front door. 

“Oswald what was that.” All traces of their previous conversation were forgotten as Oswald heard a faint but urgent knocking at his door. A quick glance at the clock confirmed that it was much later than any of his busy body neighbors would consider a decent time to come calling and lord knows he wasn’t expecting anyone. When after a few more seconds he heard the knocking again he stood.

“I’m going to have to call you back Mother.” He reached to close his laptop but not before he distantly registered her still speaking.

“Oh be safe my boy. I love you Oswald. Call me again when you are ready to talk.” He blew her a quick kiss as he closed it, already heading towards his front door where the knocking now continued the sound not quite as deep as the first thud but deeper than the faint sounds that followed. It happened steadily over and over again. 

‘If these are some kids pulling a prank they were definitely at the wrong house’ he thought grabbing his umbrella from where he propped it up in the doorway. It was clear whoever was knocking wasn’t going to stop anytime soon and he was seriously contemplating telling them to fuck off when he detected another sound.

A sob.

The sob broke free through the knocking as though whoever was crying outside his door hadn’t intended to and it was cut off just as quickly as it began before it could turn into a full on desperate wail. He heard more laboured breathing and sniffling and that decided it for him. Some long buried protective instinct he did not know was still inside of him kicked in and the sound of this person crying spurred him into action.

Oswald quickly threw off the dead bolt and opened the door. As it swung inward he was hit with another body slumping forward into him. The only thing that kept him from collapsing back into the foyer and falling on his ass was his sudden recognition of the limp body he now supported in his arms.

It was Ed.

“Edward. Jesus. Oh my god Ed are you okay?” The young man’s head tilted to the side to look at Oswald but instead of his usual inquisitive tilt it was a lazy loll as though his head refused to support itself. Not a good sign. Ed’s hair fell in his face and was plastered to his forehead but even through this and the low lighting Oswald could tell that something was amiss. 

When Edward finally spoke his words came out with great difficulty and Oswald’s eyes were drawn to be a split and slightly swollen lip. “Oswald help me. He… he.”

“He who Ed? What happened to you? Who did this to you?” 

Ed didn’t answer only let out a pained groan as Oswald shifted his grip. This snapped Oswald out of the surprise from Ed’s sudden appearance. He belatedly realized he shouldn’t have bombarded Edward with questions when he was obviously in some kind of shock.

Ignoring the protests from his leg he supported Ed’s full weight and half dragged him into the house. Once he got Ed to lie down on the couch he went back and closed the door carefully putting the deadbolt back in place and rushing back to go check on Ed. 

Ed had rolled over onto his side from the position that Oswald had left him in on his back and was curled tighter around himself. Though Ed was no longer crying his eyes were blown wide and searching although Oswald got the feeling he wasn’t actually seeing much of anything. 

Now that they were out of the dark of the corridor Oswald was able to take full stock of the state that Edward was in. Besides a busted lip he sported swelling around his eyes from crying, the tears were laying still adding a shine to his red swollen cheek. His hair which laid plastered to his face upon closer inspection was thankfully plastered only with sweat and not blood. His entire body was shaking with the effort of breathing. Oswald dropped down next to the couch and grabbed Edward’s nearest hand which he held firm in his despite the lack of response.

Oswald was flooded with myriad of mixed emotions, chief among them being an even greater feeling of protectiveness now that he knew Ed had been the source of those pitiful anguished noises. He reached with his other free hand to pull the landline to him from where he had rested it earlier near the arm of the sofa. 

At the sound of the dial tone Edward suddenly became aware again and went into a virtual frenzy flailing about his arms and legs and thrashing trying to knock the phone out of Oswald’s hands.

“Ed stop. Shh it’s okay. I’m just going to call the hospital.” Oswald did his best to hold him down and hold the phone away from him despite Ed’s obvious distress and pain.

“No no no please. No cops. No hospital. You can’t call anyone because they’ll call him. They’ll call him and then he’ll find me.”

Oswald did his best to keep his voice level and measured in order to calm down Edward as he chanced a question. “Who is he Edward? Who did this to you? I need to know how to help you.”

Edward stopped flailing and his face contorted once again in distress as fresh tears began collecting in his eyes. “You know. How can you not know? Everyone else can see it.” Each of these nonsensical statements was punctuated and interrupted by shallow breaths as though the more Edward went on the harder it was becoming for him to remain calm. 

Oswald shushed him and ran a hand to smooth his sweat slicked hair off of his face. “Okay, Okay please calm down. Edward see look I’m putting the phone down.” He replaced the phone to its original spot in the holder noting that the Edward’s hand was still in his own and the grip seemed to have tightened. “Ed you’re safe now so just lay here and I’m going to go get some ice for your face okay. Everything is going to be alright.” 

Oswald rose going back into the kitchen. He grabbed a bag of frozen peas and a dish towel and then after a moments consideration he grabbed another dish towel and wet it with cool water. The only reason he was heeding Ed’s wishes and not dialing the hospital was the fact that for the most part his injuries did not seem that severe. He could handle bruises and a split lip and besides it would seem from Edwards presence that he was short on people to trust at the moment. Oswald did not want to do anything to betray him right now or else Ed may shut down completely. 

When he went back to his living room he saw that Edward was limp on his stomach on the couch with his head twisted so that the bloodied and bruised side was faced up and his eyes had were shut. Between whatever he had been through before arriving on Oswald’s doorstep and the subsequent panic it seemed that Edwards body had endured enough. In sleep his breath came more naturally and if not for his battle scars he could have seemed almost peaceful. 

Oswald was able to finally allow his brave face to fall without Edward’s fear widened eyes on him. He ran the wet cloth gently over his face first clearing away the blood from his split lip and double checking to make sure he was not bleeding anywhere else. Then Oswald held the makeshift ice pack gingerly to the side of his face. Through all of this Edward barely stirred. Oswald looked him over again and again head still swimming with all of the emotions he was fighting to hold back just below the surface. 

Ed didn’t deserve this. Oswald knew he was being mistreated but he always thought it was nothing more than high school bullying. He sat there pondering this and so much more: How had Edward found his house? What was so terrifying that he seemed to fear for his life when Oswald picked up the phone?

After the peas started going soft Oswald rose with no small difficulty. The hour was late and he needed sleep so that he and Ed could talk about this in the morning. He had a lot of questions. He put his sorry excuse for medical supplies back into his kitchen and grabbed a throw cover off of his arm chair to lay over Ed’s sleeping form. 

When he placed the cover over his back Edward did not awake but he let out a small whimper. Oswald stilled and pulled the cover back off of him. When he pressed a hand comfortingly to Edwards shoulder he jerked in his sleep letting out a small cry and what sounded like muffled words. 

Pulling his hand back as though he had been burned Oswald considered Ed laying there before reaching out and pulling up Edward’s T shirt to reveal bruises on his back. He leaned in close and was able to see that all over and in between the raised and discolored skin there was a constant criss crossing of older scars. Oswald replaced the shirt and stepped back putting a hand to his mouth to stifle the sounds of rage that threatened to bubble over as all of the pieces he had been blind to fell into place.

He knew exactly who did this-who had been doing this- to Ed. 

***Earlier that day***

“Remember that.” and that was it, or so Edward thought at the time. 

He broke his second hug with Oswald and they shared a wistful glance of all the words unspoken before he walked out of the room to finally leave school. As full as his day had been with revelations he was still reluctant to go home. That didn’t mean that he was in any way relieved when he got out to the bus lot to find that his bus had already left without him.

Excellent. Now he would have to walk home. He chanced a glance over at the staff parking lot where he saw Oswald making the laborious trek to his car. A fleeting notion that perhaps Edward could ask him for a ride suddenly surfaced but he dispelled it just as quickly, actually shaking his head to get rid of the lingering image of him riding shotgun in Oswald’s car. There would be too many questions from Oswald that he had tried so hard to avoid. Besides his father would tell him it was better to walk than to have to accept anyone’s charity. 

Ed began his walk home mentally cataloging the item’s in their fridge and arranging them into the most suitable meal that would take the least amount of time to prepare to make up for his delay. If he hurried he could get home and have their dinner ready before his father got off of work. 

When he got home he noted that his father’s car was already in the drive. This gave him pause his father was many things one of which was a creature of habit one that was not due to be home for at least another hour. He took a moment to collect himself before entering the house unsure of what state his father would be in once he got inside. 

Ed was in trouble. 

He came in the door to find his father sitting in his arm chair expectantly facing the door. In one hand he had his belt and in the other he held one of the receivers for the telephone. Edward also noted that there were a few more empty beer bottles around his father’s chair than usual. 

“Ah so he finally decides to show up.”

When his father made any sort of statement like this Ed knew he was not really meant to respond. He could have asked what he meant only to be told to stop playing dumb. He could have defended himself only to be told to stop making excuses for himself. When his father was like this Ed knew he was trapped. There was a tension in the air of a reckoning to come and there was nothing Ed could say or do to stop it. No way out except through.

“Come here. Take this.” Ed’s father extended the hand holding the phone receiver and Edward hesitated knowing this was likely a trick but also knowing that the longer he waited the more severe his punishment would be. Ed set down his backpack and tried not to drag his feet too much as he closed the distance between them and grabbed the phone. 

“Eddie. Why don’t you play back that last message for me?” Edward gulped now knowing what this was likely about but still not seeing any way out. He pressed the voicemail button and tried his best to keep his face impassive as the pre-recorded voice filled the room.

“Good afternoon. We regret to inform you that your child -Edward Nashton-” Edward did his best not to cringe at the fact that the woman in the front office continually failed to notice his name change when it was clearly listed in the school’s records. He had received the worst beating of his life after going behind his father’s back to change it. The least she could do is acknowledge the distinction. The message continued: “Was marked absent without excuse to one or more periods today.”

Edward flinched as his father jumped up and knocked the phone out if his hands before the message could finish. “Turn around.” He barked out voice gruff and deadly in a way that Edward was all too familiar with.

Edward complied. His entire body betrayed him and began to tense in anticipation even though he knew it would only make his pain worse.

“I know you like to figure things out Eddie.” He took his belt in both hands and cracked it hard near Ed’s left ear causing him to flinch away. “ I know you like to think you’re smart.” A repeat performance this time near the right ear and then he suddenly backed off voice going flat with false calm.“So why don’t you figure this out for me? How is it that you came home so late today, huh? Where were you?”

“I was at school.” The belt came down hard on Edward’s back a familiar pain blossoming and it took everything he had not to cry out, not to react. 

“Liar. How could you be at school when you were Absent. Without. Excuse.” He punctuated each of the last three words with a crack of the belt landing three more blows to Ed’s back each one harder than the last. Ed began bit down on his lip to keep from crying out and tried to will this to just be over. 

Obviously tired of using theatrics his father stopped talking and began raining down blow after blow. At this point in their exchanges Ed’s brain would normally kick into self defense mode, causing him to dissociate. As a person who craved order and problem solving he could not rationalize these senseless beatings fueled by emotions that he simply couldn’t grasp. There was one thing that was always a constant and that was that is was his fault. 

For the first time in a long time his voices just refused to be quiet. He was hyper aware of the feeling of the belt stinging his flesh, hyper aware of the sour scent of alcohol and the feeling of his own fingernails digging into his palm and his own teeth in his lips. Instead of quieting his mind his voices got louder and louder jostling for attention. 

‘This is not your fault.’

A tantalizing siren song in the midst of a sea of doubts and blame. He decided to hold on to this thought. ‘It’s not my fault’ the rational part of Edward’s mind spoke up for once louder than all the manufactured voices that sounded like his father or his dimwitted peers. 

‘I can’t help the fact that Oswald kissed me any more than I can help the fact that my father is a violent small minded cruel man.’

In the moment that he thought these words the beating stopped and his father dropped his belt. Ed marveled at this for a few seconds before his bewildered state was broken through by hands turning him around and a harsh words coming at him from a cruel mask of confusion and pure rage. 

“What did you just say?” His father questioned voice deadly slow. It was only then that Edward realized he had not just thought those words but said them outloud and when his sense memory kicked in he realized he had not only said them but yelled them. 

His father shoved him and his back connected with the wall across the room hard causing him to arch and nearly scream from shock as newly abused skin connected with crumbling plaster. 

“You’re gonna regret letting that slip you little fag. I knew you were up to something when you missed class I just figured you learned your lesson from the last time you decided to let me catch you with one of your sissy boyfriends.” 

Ed already regretted it, he decided as he struggled to try and wriggle out of the vice like hands on his shoulders earning him a slap to the face that's sting brought tears to his eyes. It had been a while since he’d seen his father like this. The man was too angry to be careful about where he landed his blows practically throttling him. Normally all Ed had to fear was pain but suddenly a long repressed promise rose to his mind and he knew he had to fear for his safety. For his life and for Oswald’s. 

His father had said all manner of foul things about him over the years and each one he had accepted into himself and took ownership of. Now it was different. He couldn’t accept what his father would think of Oswald. He knew it was irrational he knew it made no sense but he couldn’t let the man who was the most constant source of torment in his life taint the man who had been his most constant source of joy. The rational voice in his head the one that had spoken out loud before did so again. 

“I won’t let you ruin this for me.”

A punch to the face this time. Ed heard his father distantly yelling something about how he was the one who ruined things how he was the disappointment. The rational voice was on a roll.

“Would a disappointment be able to make perfect grades?”

Ed was shoved harder into the wall.

“Would a disappointment get a full ride to Gotham U?”

Another punch to the face Ed felt his lip split this time but he continued seeing an opportunity.

“Would a dissapointment do everything for you?” 

This time in retaliation Edward’s father went to knee him in the stomach. Ed didn’t avoid the blow but that was not the goal. He anticipated it. When his father leaned back Ed put all of his weight into him and they both went toppling to the ground. There was a sickening crack as his father’s head connected with the floor. 

Ed staggered to his feet and looked down at his father laying boneless on the ground. The next few seconds stretched into hours in Edward’s mind. The voices were all suspiciously quiet but his feelings were as loud as the blood rushing past his ears. He found that beyond the fear and adrenaline a third emotion mingled with the rest more shameful and far more dangerous. It was hope. 

He hoped his father wouldn’t get up. 

Ed stood there bordering on catatonic, chest heaving with both the effort he had expunged and the aftermath of his beating. When his father’s eyes popped open with a sudden clarity and he sat up Ed’s hope was once again overshadowed by his fight or flight response. Just as his father's eyes alighted on Ed’s and widened in shock, Ed turned and ran from the house. Curses and shouts were quick on his heels so he didn’t even bother shutting the door behind him before disappearing into the night. 

He ran until he could not run anymore. Not because his fear lessened but because his fatigue finally caught up to him settling like a weight heavily in his chest. His run slowed to walk and then to a painful shuffle as his injuries chose this precise moment to begin throbbing and stinging. He looked around, it seemed as though his feet had taken him back the way he came towards the school but he was on a street he did not recognize meaning he had probably passed his school at some point without realizing it.

He thought somewhat wistfully that this was the second time in one day he had just took of running and then he thought in disbelief that it has really only been a handful of hours ago that he had felt safe in Oswald’s arms. As he saw the sun getting lower in the sky and realized he had left home without even his backpack, he couldn’t feel farther from safe at the moment. 

He knew he could not go home. Even if he hadn’t fought back against his father there was the small matter of him yelling out that he had kissed a man and that his father was brutish and small minded. That alone meant that Ed was lucky to be breathing at the moment. 

So for lack of anything better to do Ed just started walking again. Maybe if he kept moving he could find a bus station or something of the like. He didn’t have any money or his belongings like the other times he tried to run away but perhaps someone would take pity on him. This time he also had the added bonus of being 18 which meant that as long as he steered clear of hospitals and the police no one would contact his father about his whereabouts. That’s exactly who someone would call if they saw him though. He hadn’t looked in a mirror but he was pretty sure a young man practically limping down the street covered in blood and bruises would cause any sane person to contact the authorities. 

He kept walking even as the sun disappeared from the sky taking a random turn every once in a while. As his eyelids drooped and he began to get delirious from fatigue he found himself in another neighborhood like his but with a slight variation on the style of house. He stopped in his tracks as his sleep addled brain noticed something that was too good to be true. 

He recognized the car in the driveway across the street. 

He reasoned with himself that there was no way it was actually Oswald’s car he was just grasping at straws and what were the odds that he would just so happen to end up at the front door of the one man who could possibly care about him. As he got closer and could see the license plate he could see that it was in fact his car. He was so relieved that tears sprang to his eyes. He half hopped half ran up to the front door without giving a second thought to how or why he ended up here. He grimaced when he tripped over his own feet and hit the door with a loud thud. Now too tired and sore to right himself he remained slumped against the door as he knocked once. There was no answer. He tried again and again growing more frantic that perhaps he had made a mistake and that this was not the right house at all. 

Out of sheer desperation Ed let his arms flop to his sides and began hitting his head on the door over and over again. He didn’t give a thought to whoever was inside. He had lost all hope that someone was coming. He began to sob when all of a sudden he felt the door swing away from him causing him to topple into arms that were all too strong and familiar. 

That familiar melodious voice sounded above him more frantic and emotionally charged than he had heard. He couldn’t make out what Oswald was saying but it didn’t matter words were already tumbling out of his mouth in response. 

“Oswald help me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow I promise things start to get way better from here there will be a lot of talking and problem solving and Oswald gives our boy hugs and maybe a little bit more.


End file.
